So i may or may not be getting a 55 gallon this weekend. I already have a 20 that has been up and running for many years. If i do get it i cannot set it up right away because we still need something to put it on but when it comes time i want to make the cycle as fast as possible. I do around 25% water changes in my 20 every week so instead i was just going to dump that water in the 55 till it gets filled to like 25%. Should i put more old water in? I was also going to put the filter pad that is currently in my 20 in the 55 to help get as much beneficial bacteria in the quickest way possible. I dont want to wait forever for it to get set up but i feel like itll take a long time just waiting for it to fill up a bit with old water. How much old water do you suggest? How long should i wait for the entire tank to be fully cycled? I might also drop my gravel and some old tank ornaments in there to help speed things along as i plan on new substrate and decor for my 20. Thanks in advance!

If you have the new filter already, then stick it into the 20g parallel to the other filter and share the media between the two. Can't give you exact numbers here, but . . . Leave the two working in parallel for say: two weeks. Then, transfer as much "old" water as you can to the new tank and split the filters between the tanks.

I understand what your saying. I dont have the filter(like i said we may or may NOT be getting one this weekend, we are paying off vacation so that may set us back but I'm hoping for this weekend) because we are just going to buy the kit because it comes with everything and is on sale for $150! Hoping hoping hoping!!!!

Is there anything other than live fish that i can buy to put in there to speed up the cycling process? Or are there even some sort of fish that is better for cycling than others? I think I'm going to get the tank today so..

Dutch, as usual, has given you good advice. Don't put any fish in until it's fully cycled. To help cycle it you can add a shrimp (like you eat) --as it breaks down, it will "feed" the "good bacteria, or you can simply feed the new tank as if it contained fish --also feeding the bacteria. Regarding knowing when it is cycled --it's a numbers thing. Keep reporting these numbers here: Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. We'll walk you through it all. Remember: patience. More people have a terrible experience with keeping fish simply because they didn't cycle the tank.

as YOU first said;add as much water from the 20gal as you can(do a 50% water change first-then a couple days later do another 50%) add some of the gravel from the 20gal to the TOP of the NEW gravel in the new 55gal and spread it around DON'T put it in one spot.in between the 2 50% water changes add enough water to the 55 so the NEW filter will work correctly(if there is a extension for the intake tube put it on so it is as far down as possible)put the NEW filter cartridge in the new fiter AND take some gravel from the 20 gal and put it in the NEW filter behind the new fiter cartridge.after adding the water from the second 50% water change wait another day or two,test the water in the new tank and i would bet it will be GOOD to start adding fish

Okay as soon as i start getting things started i will post those numbers. I might have a while because we have to find a stand thatll hold it but then again wont cost us a fortune. And were not doing gravel in the 55. I let my mom pick and she listened to the store lady and bought mixed black and white cichlid sand and then just regular white sand. Until i get that stand though theres not much i can do but save the water from my water changes.

News that we might be changing our substrate to black eco complete. I told my mom about it and so she looked and we might return the other stuff. I dont really want black but its best for the plants that i want to put in there and it contains beneficial bacteria in the bag.

Using fish to cycle a tank is cruel. Please don't do this. This will shorten the lifespan of the said fish dramatically might even kill them.

Best to use water, media, substrate and anything else from an established tank to get things moving, but you should still wait at least 2 weeks with this method. Also, don't forget to feed the invisible fish.

My rule of thumb is to wait untill there are hundreds of little single cell organisms, this is a good sign of water that is good enough to support life. These organisms will show up within a couple weeks if you seed it with your 20 gal. Than you give it a couple more weeks and you should be good to go.

Will do! I've been telling my dad all of this and he thinks I'm crazy. Unless one of his friends tells him otherwise he thinks I'm making stuff up. I tell him I'm serious! My stand should be coming today but may be delayed because we are currently in a big snow storm. Hoping that ups will still deliver!